The REC is urging the new coalition government not to make any drastic cuts from the public sector budget.
The government plans to reduce public sector spending by £6 billion but the REC thinks knee-jerk cuts will damage the interim jobs market at a time when it still trying to recover from the credit crunch.
Tom Hadley from the REC reiterated the Confederation’s stance that contractors and freelancers play a crucial role in the public sector.
The REC has an ongoing Public Sector Resourcing campaign which highlights the importance of flexibility in securing the economic recovery. They believe that the public sector needs sustainable reform rather than mass staffing cuts.
The campaign also points out that new skills and competencies should be introduced into public sector organisations in order to manage the reforms.
However Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, supports the decision to cut £6 billion from public spending. It is unusual for King to publicly endorse fiscal policy but in this instance he overcame his reluctance.
He said that the introduction of an early round of spending cuts would show the government was taking steps to get to grips with the problem as soon as possible. The UK has serious financial problems that will take a full parliament to sort out and by taking measures straight away, the coalition is demonstrating that they are serious in their commitment to solve the deficit problem.
Inflation reached 3.4% in March, well over the targeted 2%. This was blamed on the increase in oil prices, VAT returning to 17.5% and the weak pound. However, the governor expects inflation to drop again as fiscal policy is tightened.
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Image: Autumn Yellows in the Hoh Rain Forest by jessi.bryan
